The White Hawks girls volleyball team opened their season Aug. 26 with a win in Big Lake, taking the game three sets to one.

Senior Mia Weaver started the team off strong with three aces in the first set. The White Hawks would dominate the offense in this set, with junior Bridget Budzius and Meaghan Kreiser each serving six points in a row. Budzius would end the first set with an ace. Kreiser would serve five aces and lead the team with a 96.3 serving percentage. Budzius and Weaver would round out the strong serving performance with 95.2% and 94.1%, respectively.

The strong offense would continue at the net with Weaver leading the team with 11 kills, followed by junior pin hitters Maria Neumann and Kreiser with seven kills each. Senior middle Taryn Peglow would be a strong presence with five kills.

Junior setter Ashtyn Cupp would lead the team in assists with 19. The back row defense was led by Weaver and Cupp with 15 and 14 digs, respectively.

The White Hawks would win 25-15, 25-20, 22-25, 25-11.

The White Hawks would continue their winning streak at home on Aug. 28 against Providence. The home team was on fire from the serving line with four players - Lexie Rehman, Avery Pearson, Weaver, Budzius - serving at 100%. Budzius would lead the team in aces with three. Pin hitters would be a dominating force, with Weaver leading with 16 kills, followed by Kreiser with eight and Neumann with six. The middles Rehman and Peglow would put down five points and two points, respectively. Peglow is sighted for two strong blocks from the middle position.

The back row would not be left out with Cupp and Budzius digging up nine balls each. Pearson and Kreiser would get in the action with six digs of their own. Cupp would have 25 assists for the night allowing the White Hawks to win in three sets (25-22, 25-17, 25-19).

Captains Mia Weaver, Taryn Peglow and Bridget Budzius were asked about the upcoming season and had this to say:

“We are really looking forward to a great season, and believe that there is lots of success ahead of us! There are many new, up and coming girls who we believe will make a huge impact this year, and who have already contributed so much so far! Overall we are so excited to be the captains of this amazing group and couldn’t be more ready to make our way to state!”

The White Hawks will play at home Sept. 3 and Sept. 5 and are hosting a varsity tournament on Saturday, Sept. 7.